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LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

lapdhelicoptertracker.com

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Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#201

Post by tclancy »

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #6

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/audit-says-lapds-use... On average, the city spent an average of $46.6 million on the program, the audit disclosed. It also found that there is limited oversight or monitoring of the division, its policies and practices and whether the program is in line with the city's safety needs. [...] The department has 17 helicopters and over 90 employees. [..] The city operates their hel…

Hang on, LAPD with limited oversight? Someone bring back Daryl Gates! Man the Ramparts!

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#202

Post by zimpenfish »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #156
zimpenfish wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so why do americans have more high speed chases? Off the top of my head: 1) US cops are more likely to harass, maim, kill you than most other places (whether you've crimed or not); 2) US legal system seems a little hinky when it comes to certain people; 3) "three strikes" (not sure if that's countrywide or state-level? pretty sure it's still around tho'?) can mean life for three trivial crimes; 4) car-centric count…

California's 3 strikes law only applies to "serious" felonies. The list is pretty reasonable IMO . No one is getting life in prison for littering or insurance fraud It's basically a list of violent crimes, the only one that seems out of pocket is selling PCP, meth, or cocaine to childre, which is bad but could arguably be less bad than the others on the list

> California's 3 strikes law only applies to "serious" felonies.

But not all states are California.

> No one is getting life in prison for littering or insurance fraud

William James Rummel begs to differ[0] - fraudulent use of a credit card ($80), forged check ($28.36), failure to return payment for non-performed work ($120.75) and voila, life sentence (albeit later reduced to time served on procedural grounds.)

[0] also references "Graham v. West Virginia, a 1912 case which involved an individual convicted of three separate counts of horse thievery total[l]ing $235" which ended up in a life sentence.

In summary, some states may have sensible 3 strike laws, some may not.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummel_v._Estelle

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#203

Post by inferiorhuman »

mschuster91 wrote: post #188
twelvedogs wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

police will chase in the US for really any reason, kinda dumb when they have your plates they can just mail you a fine john oliver did a whole thing on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ygQ2wEwJw

> kinda dumb when they have your plates they can just mail you a fine thing is, in Germany and many other European countries there's a mandate to register your place of residence with the authorities in a timely manner (i.e. 2 weeks after moving in). Americans and Brits don't have that, so "mail them a fine" is most likely going to result in the letter not arriving where it should.

I can't speak to the UK but in California there are various rules around updating vehicle registration when you move. Enforcement is pretty lax unless you drive something with exceptionally high registration fees.

There's strong wording about updating voter registration when you move, but I doubt there's much in the way of actual law. If there is it's basically never enforced as far as I can tell.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#204

Post by Zigurd »

BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #55
shoddydoordesk wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are high speed police chases (100mph+) in Los Angeles — no exaggeration — on an almost daily basis. Air support is the primary defense tool for law enforcement. It's so bad that the local TV stations have their own choppers and a dedicated on-screen UI tailored for the chases with GPS-based tracking and speed. If you're lucky you can catch one of the many YouTube live streams. Here's one from....two days ago: h…

Then why do you have so many car chases? That seems like an odd problem. There must be a reason.

Same reason that nearly every police response in the US is an armed response. Same reason police kill more Americans than terrorists do. US police culture is toxic and deadly. Several cities tightly restrict high-speed chases. That should be the norm.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#205

Post by Zigurd »

DiscourseFan wrote: post #13
ripberge wrote: post #3

As someone who lives in central LA and has them circle my neighborhood frequently, actually shaking my house, I think this is awesome. These needs should be filled by drones. Way less noisy, dangerous and expensive.

Couldn’t someone take out the drones pretty easily?

Helicopters aren't exactly robust under fire and are four orders of magnitude more valuable as a target.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#206

Post by Zigurd »

scottyah wrote: post #89
rimbo789 wrote: post #4

This is the kind of government waste that needs to be highlighted. Police forces consume a massively disproportionate amount of resources from our cities.

Lawsuits are most of the money in LA. Juries love to think they're sticking it to the police, but it just comes from a different fund that extracts from a lot of other departments. The LA City Controller is making great attempts at outreach: https://controller.lacity.gov/data

Wrong answers only?

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#208

Post by aleph_minus_one »

BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #21

I find it interesting that the question is "why don't they use drones". My question is: why so much air surveillance? I live in Germany. The only times I hear a helicopter is if someone is being rescued or if someones missing. I rarely see them at all.

> My question is: why so much air surveillance? I live in Germany. The only times I hear a helicopter is if someone is being rescued or if someones missing.

Relevant German song concerning this mentality:

Foyer des Arts - Hubschraubereinsatz (1982)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pAr1IMiP6A

Here is some video of the song that also shows the lyrics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykRB9SVlDhU

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#209

Post by QuiEgo »

To those not familiar with LA or the USA, here’s a cultural time capsule from 2Pac circa 1996:

“ It's the, City of Angels and constant danger South Central L.A., can't get no stranger Full of drama like a soap opera, on the curb Watchin' the ghetto bird helicopters, I observe”

Pretty much still sums it up.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#210

Post by idle_zealot »

yreg wrote: post #189
dns_snek wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course they're not optional, but you shouldn't be starting a high speed pursuit over a seat belt violation, or for someone going 5 over the speed limit. Principle of proportionality should apply, you shouldn't be risking the lives of the public over anything but the most serious offences where them getting away poses a greater threat to the public than potentially killing a bystander.

It goes the other way as well. It is dumb to run away from police when they stop you for minor infraction and face a very high chance of getting caught and getting into a major problem. At least I would hope that the penalties for running away are very serious. The police officers don't know why you are running away and can reasonably expect that there is something wrong other than an unbuckled seat belt -> a kidnapp…

> It goes the other way as well. It is dumb to run away from police when they stop you for minor infraction and face a very high chance of getting caught and getting into a major problem

Right, people are dumb. You can't just throw your hands in the air and declare a problem unsolvable because people are dumb and keep acting against their best interest; you acknowledge that fact and change tact accordingly. If it turns out that trying to pull people over for minor infractions causes 1% of those incidents to turn into violent chases then you should stop pulling people over for minor infractions and figure out a safer way to ticket them. At the very least you shouldn't chase after them in your car and add another dangerous vehicle to the road. It reflects a mindset of "get and punish the bad guys" being prioritized over "improve safety of your community," which pretty much sums up the culture problem with American police and criminal justice in general.

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